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CCALIFORNIA STYLE

The Most Incredible Day

gowns, invitations, bouquets, menus, favors, florals, dessert tables, tiaras,

trousseaus and honeymoons

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weddings

Sweet TemptationThe latest slice of the final course is anything but predictable

A table of vintage-inspired desserts includes dainty coconut minicakes and an edible bronze-chocolate garnish (cupcakes couturemb.com).

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spring weddings 2011 C 73

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Event planner Merryl Brown of Montecito

likes to stay in the neighborhood with

custom-labeled jars of Santa Barbara

honey wrapped in twine. “Edible gifts won’t

end up in a landfill,” she explains. Other

favor buzz: themed candy tables, minipies

and olive oil. merrylbrownevents.com.

hether selecting minicakes by S.F.’s Cakework (cakework.com) or a Perfect Endings classic in Napa (perfectendings.com), there’s no deeper impression made than by this all-important indulgence. Go French with a cream puff

croque-en-bouche from Emil’s Swiss Pastry in West L.A. (emilsswisspastry.com). Or play with rustic elegance, like Valerie Confections’ “Fallen Fruit,” Angeleno Valerie Gordon’s bark-like ripple of buttercream with fresh figs, grapes and pomegranate dropped onto jam-layered tiers (valerieconfections.com). With fine detailing, Sweet & Saucy Shop of Long Beach shapes sugar flowers (like this pictured aubergine dahlia), crafts colorful macaron trees and fashions fondants in towers of lacy white and peach (sweetand

saucyshop.com). The sky’s truly the limit for designer desserts—and for their heights.

Cracking Tradition While CA produces nearly 100% of U.S. almond supply, Jordan almonds are usually imported. Marich Confectionery, however, crafts the candy-coated treat in Hollister. marich.com.

FROM LEFT

Dessert table, sugar flower and lace cake by Sweet & Saucy Shop, Long Beach.

Maison Bouche’s latest: Marriage a la Mode, $72, a gift box of nine bars in flavors like

lavender-fleur de sel and violet—each wrapped with a jaunty old print from East Bay

chocolatier Diane Beaty’s collection. maisonbouche.com.

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Wolfgang Puck says “a Spago-style menu of smoked-

salmon pizza and mini-burgers” will indubitably satisfy

guests. Here, the gregarious chef’s other favorite choices for

a crowd: caviar and stone crabs • fresh donuts for late-night

bites • monochromatic candy tables • quality, not quantity.

rides aren’t the only ones wearing white to weddings. While Campanile, Lucques, Patina Group, Bouchon and FarmShop cater off-site, many California toques

have left restaurant life to create their own special-events com-panies. Take WhoaNelly!, a collaborative project between Stephanie Bone and Elizabeth Griffiths, two former chefs/chee-semongers at AOC. Much like contemporaries Heirloom L.A. (An-gelini Osteria, Cake Monkey) and Savore (Spago), the pair touts farm-driven menus (think Shaner Farms tangelo punch, crab

gougères) that keep them walking the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market on Wednesdays. And in lieu of traditional pre-wedding samplings—same as Danielle Steckler of Paper Palate—“We’ll just throw them a dinner party,” says Griffiths. “You can’t taste them on a tomato dish in December, but it’s like a dress fitting. The style is there; you just have to use your imagination.” SCOUTING REPORT High-end comfort, fruit pies, vegetarian

menus, antipasti, exotic meats like goat, oyster stations, family-

style dining, long tables instead of rounds, vintage-era punches.

B...Off the Market

Sir August May topped a “cake” of Humboldt Fog chèvre with dates and Meyer lemons.

All from Jessica Lasky Fine Catering/Alison Events: Family-style arugula salad; Summer menu; Local appetizer at Meadowsweet Dairy.

The events duo at Sir August May recently designed a naturally sweetened, honey-themed cheese display which was 100% locally-sourced. At the Bear Flag Farm wedding, guests toasted with sparkling mead from Heidrun Meadery and feasted on Cypress Grove cheese “cakes,” and pastries and candies from Tell Tale Preserve Co.—all before departing with wooden Cowgirl Creamery miniboxes for a savory finish.

Cheese to please

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aurie Arons has long been planning nuptials of extreme elegance for

some of society’s most recog-nizable couples (Vanessa and Billy Getty, for one). Since not every bride and groom can snag Arons or her new and ex-clusive collaborator, superchef Tyler Florence, she offers here her ideal selections for conviv-ial rehearsal dinner venues throughout the state: INVERNESS Manka’s Inverness Lodge. MARSHALL Hog Island Oyster Co. PHILO Goldeneye Winery. CALISTOGA The Lakehouse at Calistoga Ranch. NAPA Angèle Restaurant’s patio. CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA Casanova. RUTHERFORD Hall Winery wine cave. CARMEL VALLEY Holman Ranch. SAN FRANCISCO Wayfare Tavern’s third floor. SAUSALITO Cavallo Point. YOUNTVILLE Paraduxx Winery. ST. HELENA Durham Ranch (through Paula LeDuc Fine Catering). MONTECITO San Ysidro Ranch. SANTA BARBARA The Wine Cask. DEL MAR L’Auberge Del Mar.

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al fresco menus call for a versatile rosé—like the latest from Scaggs Vineyard. (Or make it a cocktail with ginger-infused Domaine de Canton and a splash of soda.)

2009 Scaggs Vineyard Rosé, Mt. Veeder, Napa, $25, scaggsvineyard.com.

a night of dancing calls

for low-key comfort from

Ca’s favorite meals on

wheels: L.a.’s Grilled Cheese Truck griddles

brie to an unctuous crisp,

while donut ice cream

from Lake Street Creamery satisfies the

yen for nostalgia. in S.f.,

Spencer On The Go! proffers foie gras torchon

on toasts, and S.d.’s

Miho Gastrotruck takes

fresh-from-the-farm-to-

you (literally) for a spin.

After Hours

Old laws prohibit many wineries from hosting weddings, so unless you’re marrying a vintner, vetting a private wine country estate with Mint Locations is the way to go. mintlocations.com.

A Laurie Arons dinner at the Calistoga Ranch Lakehouse.

A wedding at the Vibiana in downtown L.A.

Pre-Party Panache